Dr. Avant Brings Uplifting Mission from UIC SNPhA to Cincinnati

As a teenager, she made a plan. University of Cincinnati (UC) Assistant Professor Dr. Nicole Avant wanted to mitigate inequalities she saw growing up in Chicago’s North Lawndale and Austin communities.

“I created a personal mission statement when I was about 18,” said Avant, PharmD ’12, who teaches in Cincinnati’s Division of Experience-Based Learning and Career Education. “It was to increase the upward mobility of others through academics, health, and economics.”

The health piece brought Avant to UIC Pharmacy and a leadership role with SNPhA, the Student National Pharmaceutical Association. That group’s mission—working “toward the improvement of the health, educational, and social environment of minority communities”—fit Avant perfectly.

“ It was a no-brainer … that I would align myself with SNPhA, because their mission statement was aligned with my own.”

DR. NICOLE AVANT

Avant made a mark in SNPhA as UIC chapter head, tripling membership and increasing the chapter’s activity significantly. They did more health fairs, blood-pressure screenings, and similar events. And Avant’s enthusiasm for SNPhA kept chapter members working hard, she said.

“I was very passionate about the organization,” she said. “And I’m told that my passion is what motivated them, too.”

That dedication to SNPhA also helped Avant develop leadership skills and make invaluable connections that shaped her career, she said. This happened both locally and when Avant earned a national position with SNPhA as financial secretary.

“All of this just deepens your network,” she said. “You get to know people on the chapter level. … And at a national level, I knew a lot of student pharmacists as well as some of the academic and community pharmacists that would attend the national meetings.”

Today, Avant’s advocacy, leadership, and network benefit the Cincinnati community, where she instills lessons on racial/ethnic disparities and inclusive leadership in her undergrad courses. She also researches and publishes on microaggressions, implicit bias, and related topics in pharmacy, and serves in UC’s Black Faculty Association and LGBTQ center.

Outside of UC, Avant leads workshops, trainings, and coaching on inclusion at medical centers, pharmacy schools, and other health-related organizations. And she now serves SNPhA’s parent organization, NPhA, as treasurer.

“Everything I’ve done has always been to uplift, to center, to amplify marginalized voices,” she said. “As healthcare leaders, I want to make sure that we all understand how the implicit bias, social determinants of health, and social determinants of equity significantly impact someone’s health.” �